A second batch of Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group (CAIG)/Chengdu Aerospace Corporation (CAC) J-10CE multi-role fighters has been handed over to the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), increasing the number delivered to date to 12 aircraft.
The aircraft – confirmed serials: 22-107, 22-108, 22-109, 22-110; with the remaining two examples likely being 22-111 and 22-112 – were received by the PAF on August 30. As with the first batch, these aircraft have joined No 15 Squadron ‘Cobras’ at PAF Base Rafiqui, located near the city of Shorkot in the country’s Punjab province, which previously flew the French-developed Dassault Mirage IIIDP fighter-interceptor and Mirage 5DD/EF ground attack aircraft.
Negotiations between Pakistan and China to purchase the Chinese-made, delta-winged multi-role fighter had been ongoing for many years until December 2021, when the former confirmed speculation that a deal had been finalised earlier in the year by announcing a contract for the acquisition of 25 J-10CEs. The first six examples (serials 22-101 to 22-106) landed at PAF Base Minhas (Kamra) in northern Pakistan on March 4, 2022, after a ferry flight from the CAIG/CAC factory in Chengdu, China.
This initial delivery came just eight months after the contract was signed on June 25, 2021. They were officially inducted into PAF service during a formal ceremony at the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) at PAF Base Minhas (Kamra) on March 11, this year.
